Wireless network access to wireless network slices over a common radio channel

ABSTRACT

A wireless communication network serves wireless user devices over a radio channel that is allocated into subchannels for wireless network slices. A wireless access node schedules resource blocks from the subchannels to the wireless user devices based on their wireless network slices. The wireless access node detects a subchannel has available resource blocks and other subchannels need the available resource blocks. The wireless access node schedules the available resource blocks to the wireless user devices that need the available resource blocks and that use a higher priority wireless network slice. The wireless access node wirelessly exchanges user data with the wireless user devices over the scheduled resource blocks and exchanges the user data with the wireless network slices. The wireless network slices exchanging at least some of the user data with external systems.

RELATED CASES

This United States Patent Application is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/665,737 that was filed on Oct. 28, 2019 and isentitled “WIRELESS NETWORK ACCESS TO WIRELESS NETWORK SLICES OVER ACOMMON RADIO CHANNEL.” U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/665,737 ishereby incorporated by reference into this United States PatentApplication.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

Wireless communication networks provide wireless data services towireless user devices. Exemplary wireless data services includemedia-conferencing, internet-access, Low Power Wide Area Network(LP-WAN), Vehicle-to-X, social-networking, and the like. Exemplarywireless user devices comprise phones, computers, vehicles, robots, andsensors. The wireless communication networks have wireless access nodesthat exchange wireless signals with the wireless user devices usingwireless network protocols. Exemplary wireless network protocols includeLong Term Evolution (LTE) and Fifth Generation New Radio (5GNR).

The wireless signals propagate over radio bands. A typical radio band ishundreds of megahertz wide and is channelized. For example, a 100megahertz band might be separated into five 20 megahertz channels. Thedifferent channels are often used to support frequency division betweenuplink/downlink or between adjacent network sectors. The typical radiochannel supports many different wireless data services.

In addition to wireless access nodes, the wireless communicationnetworks include other network elements like packet gateways and networkcontrollers. These other network elements are often hosted byvirtualized data centers. The virtualized data centers use a virtuallayer to separate the network hardware from the network software. Thisseparation enables convenient network element installation and scaling.The virtualization allows wireless communication networks to beseparated into wireless network slices. A wireless network slice is agroup of virtual network elements that interact to provide one or morewireless data services. Thus, a wireless network slice is alsoassociated with one or more specific wireless data services.

Unfortunately, the interface between the wireless network slices and theradio channels is still primitive. Current channel configurations forwireless network slices waste spectral resources. Current wirelessaccess nodes do not effectively utilize the radio channels toefficiently serve wireless user devices with wireless data service fromthe wireless network slices.

TECHNICAL OVERVIEW

A wireless communication network serves wireless user devices over aradio channel that is allocated into subchannels for wireless networkslices. A wireless access node schedules resource blocks from thesubchannels to the wireless user devices based on their wireless networkslices. The wireless access node detects a subchannel has availableresource blocks and other subchannels need the available resourceblocks. The wireless access node schedules the available resource blocksto the wireless user devices that need the available resource blocks andthat use a higher priority wireless network slice. The wireless accessnode wirelessly exchanges user data with the wireless user devices overthe scheduled resource blocks and exchanges the user data with thewireless network slices. The wireless network slices exchanging at leastsome of the user data with external systems.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless access node to serve wireless UserEquipment (UEs) over a common radio channel.

FIG. 2 illustrates the operation of the wireless access node to servethe wireless UEs over the common radio channel.

FIG. 3 illustrates a wireless access node to serve wireless UserEquipment (UEs) over a common radio channel.

FIG. 4 illustrates a wireless UE that is served by the wireless accessnode over the common radio channel.

FIG. 5 illustrates a Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure(NFVI) having wireless network slices that serve the wireless UEs overthe wireless access node and common radio channel.

FIG. 6 illustrates the operation of wireless UEs, a wireless accessnode, and wireless network slices to serve the wireless UEs over acommon radio channel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates wireless access node 110 to serve wireless UserEquipment (UEs) 101 over common radio channel 130 in wirelesscommunication network 100. Wireless communication network 100 compriseswireless User Equipment (UEs) 101, wireless access node 110, andwireless network slices 121-124. Wireless access node 110 compriseswireless transceiver (XCVR) 111 and Baseband Unit (BBU) 112. Wirelessnetwork slices 121-124 comprise media-conferencing slice 121,internet-access slice 122, Low-Power Wide Area Network (LP-WAN) slice123, and Vehicle-to-X (V2X) slice 124.

Wireless UEs 101 are wirelessly linked to wireless XCVR 111 over radiochannel 130. Radio channel 130 comprises media-conferencing subchannel131, internet-access subchannel 132, LP-WAN subchannel 133, and V2Xsubchannel 134. Wireless communication network 100 is restricted forclarity and typically includes more UEs, radio channels, subchannels,access nodes, and slices than the amount shown.

UEs 101 have user circuitry and radio circuitry. The user circuitryinteracts with humans and/or machines. The radio circuitry wirelesslycommunicates with XCVR 111 in wireless access node 110 over radiochannel 130. UEs 101 might be phones, computers, robots, sensors,vehicles, or some other data appliance with wireless communicationcircuitry.

In wireless access node 110, XCVR 111 comprises antennas, modulators,amplifiers, filters, digital/analog interfaces, microprocessors, memory,software, transceivers, and bus circuitry. The microprocessors compriseDigital Signal Processors (DSPs), Central Processing Units (CPUs),Graphical Processing Units (GPUs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays(FPGAs), Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), and/or thelike. The memory comprises Random Access Memory (RAM), flash circuitry,disk drives, and/or the like. The memory stores software like operatingsystems and network applications. The microprocessors execute theoperating systems and network applications to wirelessly exchangenetwork signaling and user data with UEs 101 over subchannels 131-134 inradio channel 130. The microprocessors execute the operating systems andnetwork applications to exchange the network signaling and user datawith BBU 112 over fronthaul links.

In wireless access node 110, BBU 112 comprises microprocessors, memory,software, transceivers, and bus circuitry. The microprocessors compriseCPUs, GPUs, ASICs, and/or the like. The memory comprises RAM, flashcircuitry, disk drives, and/or the like. The memory stores software likeoperating systems, network applications, and virtual components.Exemplary network applications comprise Physical Layer (PHY), MediaAccess Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), Packet Data ConvergenceProtocol (PDCP), Radio Resource Control (RRC), and Service DataAdaptation Protocol (SDAP), although other network applications could beused. The microprocessors execute the operating systems and networkapplications to exchange network signaling and user data with UEs 101over XCVR 111 and radio channel 130. The microprocessors execute theoperating systems and network applications to exchange network signalingand user data with network slices 121-124 over backhaul links.

Wireless network slices 121-124 comprise microprocessors, memory,software, transceivers, and bus connections. The microprocessorscomprise CPUs, GPUs, ASICs, and/or the like. The memory comprises RAM,flash circuitry, disk drives, and/or the like. The memory storessoftware like operating systems, virtual components, and Virtual NetworkFunctions (VNFs). Exemplary VNFs comprise: Access and MobilityManagement Functions (AMFs), Session Management Functions (SMFs), UserPlane Functions (UPFs), Policy Control Functions (PCFs), AuthenticationServer Functions (AUSFs), Unified Data Functions (UDMs), ApplicationFunctions (AFs), Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), and/orsome other type of networking software. In some examples, network slices121-124 comprise one or more Network Function VirtualizationInfrastructures (NFVIs).

Media-conferencing slice 121 authorizes and groups UEs 101 formedia-conferences, and then distributes and/or media data for the mediaconferences among UEs 101. For example, four video-phones may engage ina live video-chat with one another over media-conference subchannel 131,wireless access node 110, and media-conferencing slice 121. In someexamples, media-conferencing slice 121 comprises an IMS, AF, UPF, AMF,SMF, and PCF.

Internet-access slice 122 authorizes internet access and then exchangesinternet data with the internet for UEs 101. For example, a laptopcomputer may interact with a search-engine and several web sites overinternet-access subchannel 133, wireless access node 110, andinternet-access slice 122. In some examples, internet-access slice 122comprises an AUSF, UPF, AMF, SMF, and PCF.

LP-WAN slice 123 exchanges relatively small amounts of machine data forUEs 101 over low-power but long-range wireless messaging. For example,weather sensors may transfer atmospheric data to a national weathercenter over LP-WAN subchannel 133, wireless access node 110, and LP-WANslice 123. In some examples, LP-WAN slice 123 comprises an AMF, AUSF,SMF, and UPF.

V2X slice 124 serves vehicles with wireless connectivity to variousentities including controllers, monitors, and other vehicles. Forexample, two cars may exchange acceleration and velocity data over V2Xsubchannel 134, wireless access node 110, and V2X slice 124. In someexamples, V2X slice 123 comprises an AMF, AUSF, SMF, PCF, and UPF.

UEs 101 and wireless access node 110 wirelessly exchange networksignaling and user data over subchannels 131-134 in radio channel 130.Radio channel 130 may use radio frequencies in the low-band, mid-band,millimeter-wave band, and/or some other part of the wirelesscommunication spectrum. Radio channel 130 may use Fifth Generation NewRadio (5GNR), Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)802.11 (WIFI), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LP-WAN, or some other wirelessprotocol. Various wireless protocols are described by IEEE, InternetEngineering Task Force, (IETF), and Third Generation Partnership Project(3GPP) publications among others. The fronthaul and backhaul links mayuse IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet), Time Division Multiplex (TDM), Data OverCable System Interface Specification (DOCSIS), Synchronous OpticalNetwork (SONET), LTE, 5GNR, WIFI, or some other data communicationprotocol.

In wireless access node 110, BBU 112 determines the size and placementof subchannels 131-134 within radio channel 130. The size may beindicated by channel percentage, resource block amount, and the like.The placement may be indicated by resource block numbers, subcarrierboundaries, and the like. BBU 112 determines the size and placement ofsubchannels 131-134 based on its geographic location, time-of-day,day-of-week, and day-of-year. The size and placement of subchannels131-134 within radio channel 130 is typically based on historical usagedata for that service, time, and location. Other wireless access nodesat different locations will individually determine their own subchannelsfrom radio channel 130 in a similar manner.

In wireless access node 110, BBU 112 schedules media-conferencingresource blocks from media-conferencing subchannel 131 to exchangemedia-conferencing data. BBU 112 schedules internet-access resourceblocks from Internet-access subchannel 132 to exchange Internet-accessdata. BBU 112 schedules LP-WAN resource blocks from LP-WAN subchannel133 to exchange LP-WAN data. BBU 112 schedules V2X resource blocks fromV2X subchannel 134 to exchange V2X data. BBU 112 then schedules anyunscheduled resource blocks from subchannels 131-134 for any remainingmedia-conferencing data, Internet-access data, LP-WAN data, and V2Xdata. The allocation of the unscheduled resource blocks to the remainingunscheduled data may use a service priority, round-robin, randomdistribution, or some other allocation technique.

BBU 112 transfers information about unscheduled resource blocks insubchannels 131-134 over link 113. BBU 112 also transfers the additionalmedia-conferencing data, internet-access data, LP-WAN data, and V2X dataover link 113 when subsequently using the formerly unscheduled resourceblocks. For example, BBU 112 may receive media-conferencing data frommedia-conferencing slice 121 and transfer the media-conferencing dataover link 113, XCVR 111, and internet-access subchannel 132 for wirelessdelivery to UEs 101. In another example, BBU 112 may receive V2X datafrom UEs 101 over LP-WAN subchannel 134 and XCVR 111 and then transferthe V2X data over link 113 for delivery to V2X slice 124.

UEs 101 and XCVR 111 wirelessly exchange media-conferencing data,internet-access data, LP-WAN data, and V2X data over scheduled resourceblocks. XCVR 111 and BBU 112 exchange the media-conferencing data,internet-access data, LP-WAN data, and V2X data over fronthaul links.BBU 112 and media-conferencing slice 121 exchange the media-conferencingdata over backhaul links. BBU 112 and internet-access slice 122 exchangethe internet-access data over backhaul links. BBU 112 and LP-WAN slice123 exchange the LP-WAN data over backhaul links. BBU 112 and V2X slice124 exchange the V2X data over backhaul links.

Advantageously, wireless communication network 100 effectively utilizeradio channel 130 to efficiently serve wireless UEs 101 with networkservices from wireless network slices 121-124.

FIG. 2 illustrates the operation of wireless access node 110 to servewireless UEs 101 over common radio channel 130. Wireless access node 110determines subchannels 131-133 within radio channel 130 based onlocation and time-of-day (201). Subchannels 131-133 are specified bysize and placement within radio channel 130. Wireless access node 110schedules media-conferencing resource blocks from media-conferencingsubchannel 131 to exchange media-conferencing data (202). Wirelessaccess node 110 schedules internet-access resource blocks frominternet-access subchannel 132 to exchange internet-access data (202).Wireless access node 110 schedules LP-WAN resource blocks from LP-WANsubchannel 133 to exchange LP-WAN data (202).

Wireless access node 110 identifies if any of subchannels 131-133 arefull but have data remaining data for upload/download (203). Wirelessaccess node 110 identifies any unscheduled resource blocks that arestill available in subchannels 131-133 (204-206). Whenmedia-conferencing subchannel 131 is full (203) but internet-accesssubchannel 132 is not full (204), wireless access node 110 schedulesmedia-conferencing data over internet-access subchannel 132 (207). Whenmedia-conferencing subchannel 131 is full (203) but LP-WAN subchannel133 is not full (204), wireless access node 110 schedulesmedia-conferencing data over LP-WAN subchannel 133 (208). Wheninternet-access subchannel 132 is full (203) but media-conferencingsubchannel 131 is not full (205), wireless access node 110 schedulesinternet-access data over media-conferencing subchannel 131 (209). Wheninternet-access subchannel 132 is full (203) but LP-WAN subchannel 133is not full (205), wireless access node 110 schedules internet-accessdata over LP-WAN subchannel 133 (210). When LP-WAN subchannel 133 isfull (203) but media-conferencing subchannel 131 is not full (206),wireless access node 110 schedules LP-WAN data over media-conferencingsubchannel 131 (211). When LP-WAN subchannel 133 is full (203) butinternet-access subchannel 132 is not full (206), wireless access node110 schedules LP-WAN data over internet-access subchannel 132 (212).

Wireless access node 110 wirelessly exchanges media-conferencing data,internet-access data, and LP-WAN data with UEs 101 over the scheduledresource blocks (213). Wireless access node 110 exchangesmedia-conferencing data with media-conferencing slice 121. Wirelessaccess node 110 exchanges internet-access data with internet-accessslice 122. Wireless access node 110 exchanges LP-WAN data with LP-WANslice 123.

FIG. 3 illustrates wireless access node 310 to serve wireless UserEquipment (UEs) 301 over common radio channel 330. Wireless access node310 is an example of wireless access node 110, although node 110 maydiffer. Wireless access node 310 comprises Distributed Unit (DU)circuitry 311 and Centralized Unit (CU) circuitry 312. DU circuitry 711comprises (Fifth Generation New Radio (5GNR) circuitry 361, memory 362,Central Processing Units (CPU) 363, and DU XCVR 364 that are coupledover bus circuitry. 5GNR circuitry 361 comprises antennas, amplifiers(AMPS), filters, modulation, analog-to-digital interfaces, DigitalSignal Processors (DSP), and memory that are coupled over bus circuitry.CU circuitry 312 comprises CU XCVR 365, memory 366, CPU 367, and networkXCVR 368 that are coupled over bus circuitry. UEs 301 are wirelesslycoupled to the antennas in 5GNR circuitry 361 over 5GNR links in radiochannel 330. DU XCVR 364 is coupled to CU XCVR over fronthaul links.Network XCVR 368 is coupled to Network Function VirtualizationInfrastructure (NFVI) 320 over backhaul links.

In DU circuitry 311, memory 362 stores operating system (OS), virtuallayer (VL), Physical Layer (PHY), Media Access Control (MAC), Radio LinkControl (RLC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio ResourceControl (RRC), and Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP). In CUcircuitry 312, the memories store operating system, virtual layer, PHY,MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and SDAP. The virtual layer comprises hypervisormodules, virtual switches, virtual machines, and/or the like.

CPU 367 in CU circuitry 312 executes some or all of the networkapplications (PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and SDAP) to drive the exchangeof user data and network signaling data between NFVI 320 and DUcircuitry 311. CPU 363 in DU circuitry 311 executes some or all of thenetwork applications to drive the transfer of user data and networksignaling between CU circuitry 312 and UEs 301. The functionality splitof the network applications between DU circuitry 311 and CU circuitry312 may vary.

The RRC in circuitry 311-312 exchanges N2/N1 signaling with Access andMobility Management Functions (AMFs) in NFVI 320. The RRC exchangesRRC/N1 signaling with UEs 301. The RRC processes uplink RRC signalingand downlink N2 signaling to generate new downlink RRC signaling anduplink N2 signaling. The SDAP in circuitry 311-312 exchanges N3 datawith User Plane Functions (UPFs) in NFVI 320. The SDAP exchanges SDAPdata with SDAPs in UEs 301. The SDAP interworks between the N3 data andthe SDAP data.

The RRC exchanges the RRC/N1 signaling with the PDCP in Service DataUnits (SDUs). The SDAP exchanges the SDAP data with the PDCP in SDUs.The PDCP maps between the SDUs and Protocol Data Units (PDUs). The PDCPexchanges the PDUs with the RLC. The RLC maps between the PDUs and MAClogical channels. The RLC exchanges the RRC/N1 and SDAP data with theMAC over the MAC logical channels. The MAC maps between the MAC logicalchannels and MAC transport channels. The MAC exchanges the RRC/N1signaling and SDAP data with the PHY over the MAC transport channels.The PHY maps between the MAC transport channels and PHY transportchannels. The PHY exchanges the RRC/N1 signaling and SDAP data with thePHYs in UEs 301 over PHY transport channels in radio channel 330.

RRC functions comprise authentication, security, handover control,status reporting, Quality-of-Service (QoS), network broadcasts andpages, and network selection. SDAP functions comprise QoS marking andflow control. PDCP functions comprise LTE/5GNR allocations, securityciphering, header compression and decompression, sequence numbering andre-sequencing, de-duplication. RLC functions comprise Automatic RepeatRequest (ARQ), sequence numbering and resequencing, segmentation andresegmentation. MAC functions comprise buffer status, power control,channel quality, Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARM), useridentification, random access, user scheduling, and QoS. PHY functionscomprise packet formation/deformation, windowing/de-windowing,guard-insertion/guard-deletion, parsing/de-parsing, controlinsertion/removal, interleaving/de-interleaving, Forward ErrorCorrection (FEC) encoding/decoding, rate matching/de-matching,scrambling/descrambling, modulation mapping/de-mapping, channelestimation/equalization, Fast Fourier Transforms (FFTs)/Inverse FFTs(IFFTs), channel coding/decoding, layer mapping/de-mapping, precoding,Discrete Fourier Transforms (DFTs)/Inverse DFTs (IDFTs), and ResourceElement (RE) mapping/de-mapping.

In 5GNR circuitry 361, the antennas receive wireless 5GNR signals fromUEs 301 that transport Uplink (UL) RRC/N1 signaling and SDAP data. Theantennas transfer corresponding electrical UL signals through duplexersto the amplifiers. The amplifiers boost the received UL signals forfilters which attenuate unwanted energy. In modulation, demodulatorsdown-convert the UL signals from their carrier frequencies. Theanalog/digital interfaces convert the analog UL signals into digital ULsignals for the DSP. The DSP recovers UL 5GNR symbols from the ULdigital signals. In DU circuitry 311 and/or CU circuitry 312, the CPUsexecute the network applications to process the UL 5GNR symbols andrecover the UL RRC/N1 signaling and SDAP data. In DU circuitry 311and/or CU circuitry 312, the CPUs execute the network applications togenerate new UL N2/N1 signaling and new UL N3 data. In CU circuitry 312,network XCVR 368 transfers the new UL N2/N1 signaling and N3 data toNFVI 320.

In CU circuitry 312, network XCVR 368 receives Downlink (DL) N2/N1signaling and N3 data from NFVI 320 and transfers the signaling and datato memory. In circuitry 421-422, CPU 363 and/or 367 executes the networkapplications to generate new DL RRC/N1 signaling and SDAP data. Incircuitry 421-422, CPU 363 and/or 368 execute the network applicationsto process the new DL RRC/N1 signaling and SDAP data to generate DL 5GNRsymbols that carry the DL RRC/N1 signaling and SDAP data. In DUcircuitry 361, the DSP process the DL 5GNR symbols to generatecorresponding digital signals for the analog-to-digital interfaces. Theanalog-to-digital interfaces convert the digital DL signals into analogDL signals for modulation. Modulation up-converts the DL signals totheir carrier frequencies. The amplifiers boost the modulated DL signalsfor the filters which attenuate unwanted out-of-band energy. The filterstransfer the filtered DL signals through duplexers to the antennas. Theelectrical DL signals drive the antennas to emit corresponding wireless5GNR signals over radio channel 330 that transport the DL RRC/N1signaling and SDAP data to UEs 301.

In wireless access node 310, the MAC determines the sizes and placementsof subchannels A, B, C, and D within radio channel 330. The subchannelsizes may be indicated by channel percentage, resource block amount, andthe like. The subchannel placements may be indicated by resource blocknumbers, subcarrier boundaries, and the like. The MAC determines thesize and placement of the subchannels based on a data structure for thegeographic location of node 310 that translates time-of-day,day-of-week, and day-of-year into the set of subchannels A, B, C, andD—including their size and placement within channel 330. For example,radio channel 330 may be 100 megahertz wide and have subchannels A, B,C, and D that each comprise 25% (25 megahertz) of the 100 megahertzchannel. The placement of each subchannel could be specified by a pairof edge subcarriers for the channel.

In wireless access node 310, the MAC schedules resource blocks forservice A from subchannel A. The MAC schedules resource blocks forservice B from subchannel B. The MAC schedules resource blocks forservice C from subchannel C. The MAC schedules resource blocks forservice D from subchannel D. The MAC then schedules any unscheduledresource blocks from subchannels A, B, C, and D to carry any remainingdata for services A, B, C, and D. The allocation of the unscheduledresource blocks to remaining data may use a service priority,round-robin, random distribution, or some other allocation process.

CU circuitry 312 and NFVI 320 exchange data for service A with a networkslice for service A over backhaul links. CU circuitry 312 and NFVI 320exchange data for service B with a network slice for service B over thebackhaul links. CU circuitry 312 and NFVI 320 exchange data for serviceC with a network slice for service C over the backhaul links. CUcircuitry 312 and NFVI 320 exchange data for service D with a networkslice for service D over the backhaul links. CU circuitry 312 and DUcircuitry 311 exchange the service data over the fronthaul links. DUcircuitry 311 and UEs 301 wirelessly exchange the service data over thescheduled resource blocks in subchannels A, B, C, and D of radio channel330.

FIG. 4 illustrates wireless UEs 301 that are served by wireless accessnode 310 over radio channel 330. UEs 301 are an example of UEs 101,although UEs 101 may differ. On FIG. 4 , the top one of UEs 301 isdescribed below referred to as UE 301.

UE 301 comprises Fifth Generation New Radio (5GNR) circuitry 461, userinterfaces 462, CPU 463, and memory 464 which are interconnected overbus circuitry. 5GNR circuitry 461 comprises antennas, amplifiers,filters, modulation, analog-to-digital interfaces, DSP, and memory thatare coupled over bus circuitry. The antennas in UE 301 are coupled towireless access node 310 over wireless links in subchannels A, B, C, andD of radio channel 330. User interfaces 462 comprise graphic displays,machine controllers, sensors, cameras, transceivers, and/or some otheruser components. Memory 464 stores an operating system, userapplications, and network applications. The network applicationscomprise PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and SDAP. CPU 463 executes theoperating systems, user applications, and network applications toexchange RRC/N1 signaling and SDAP data with wireless access node 310over 5GNR circuitry 461 and subchannels A, B, C, and D of radio channel330.

The RRC exchanges user signaling with the user applications. The RRCprocesses the user signaling and DL RRC/N1 signaling to generate DL usersignaling and UL RRC/N1 signaling. The SDAP exchanges user data with theuser applications. The SDAP processes UL user data to generate uplinkSDAP data and processes DL SDAP data to generate DL user data. The RRCexchanges the RRC/N1 signaling with the PDCP in SDUs. The SDAP exchangesthe SDAP data with the PDCP in SDUs. The PDCP maps between the SDUs andPDUs. The PDCP exchanges the PDUs with the RLC. The RLC maps between thePDUs and MAC logical channels. The RLC exchanges the RRC/N1 and SDAPdata with the MAC over the MAC logical channels. The MAC maps betweenthe MAC logical channels and MAC transport channels. The MAC exchangesthe RRC/N1 signaling and SDAP data with the PHY over the MAC transportchannels. The PHY maps between the MAC transport channels and PHYtransport channels. The PHY exchanges the RRC/N1 signaling and SDAP datawith the PHY in wireless access node 310 over PHY transport channels insubchannels A, B, C, and D of radio channel 330.

In 5GNR circuitry 461, the antennas receive wireless signals fromwireless access node 310 that transport DL RRC/N1 signaling and SDAPdata. The antennas transfer corresponding electrical DL signals throughduplexers to the amplifiers. The amplifiers boost the received DLsignals for filters which attenuate unwanted energy. In modulation,demodulators down-convert the DL signals from their carrier frequencies.The analog/digital interfaces convert the analog DL signals into digitalDL signals for the DSP. The DSP recovers DL symbols from the DL digitalsignals. The CPU executes the network applications to process the DL5GNR symbols and recover the DL RRC/N1 signaling and SDAP data. CPU 463executes the network applications to process the DL RRC/N1 signaling andSDAP data to generate DL user data and signaling for the userapplications.

CPU 463 executes the network applications to process UL user data andsignaling to generate UL RRC/N1 signaling and SDAP data. CPU 463executes the network applications to process the UL RRC/N1 signaling andSDAP data to generate corresponding UL 5GNR symbols. The DSP processesthe UL 5GNR symbols to generate corresponding digital signals for theanalog-to-digital interfaces. The analog-to-digital interfaces convertthe digital UL signals into analog UL signals for modulation. Modulationup-converts the UL signals to their carrier frequencies. The amplifiersboost the modulated UL signals for the filters which attenuate unwantedout-of-band energy. The filters transfer the filtered UL signals throughduplexers to the antennas. The electrical UL signals drive the antennasto emit corresponding wireless signals that transport the UL RRC/N1signaling and SDAP data to wireless access node 310 over subchannels A,B, C, and D in radio channel 330.

In UE 301, the MAC receives instructions from the MAC in wireless accessnode 310 that indicate the sizes and placements of subchannels A, B, C,and D within radio channel 330. In UE 301, the MAC receives schedules ofresource blocks over subchannels A, B, C, and D from the MAC in wirelessaccess node 310. Per the schedules, 5GNR circuitry 461 and wirelessaccess node 310 wirelessly exchange the data for services A, B, C, and Dover the scheduled resource blocks in subchannels A, B, C, and D ofradio channel 330. UE 301 exchanges the service data with thecorresponding user applications.

FIG. 5 illustrates Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVI)320 having wireless network slices 521-524 that serve wireless UEs 301over wireless access node 310 and subchannels A, B, C, and D of radiochannel 330. Wireless network slice 521 delivers service A. Wirelessnetwork slice 522 delivers service B. Wireless network slice 523delivers service C. Wireless network slice 524 delivers service D. NFVI320 is an example of slices 121-124 in wireless communication network100, although slices 121-124 may differ. NFVI 320 comprises NFVIhardware 561, hardware drivers 562, operating systems and hypervisors563, NFVI virtual layer 564, and Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) 520.NFVI hardware 561 comprises Network Interface Cards (NICs), CPUs, RAM,disk storage, and data switches (SWS). Virtual layers 564 comprisevirtual NICs (vNIC), virtual CPUs (vCPU), virtual RAM (vRAM), virtualDisk Storage (vDISK), and virtual Switches (vSW). VNFs 520 compriseAccess and Mobility Management Functions (AMFs), Policy ControlFunctions (PCFs), Session Management Functions (SMFs), Authenticationand Security Functions (AUSFs), User Plane Functions (UPFs), and UnifiedData Managers (UDMs) although other VNFs could be used. Slices 521-524each comprise: an AMF, PCF, SMF, AUSF, UPF, and UDM although other VNFsand VNF combinations could be used for slices 521-524.

NFVI hardware 561 executes hardware drivers 562, operatingsystems/hypervisors 563, virtual layer 564, and VNFs 520 to serve UEs301 with services A, B, C, and D over wireless access node 310 andsubchannels A, B, C, and D in radio channel 330. The AMFs exchange N2/N1signaling with the RRC in wireless access node 310 over the backhaullinks. The UPFs exchange N3 data with the SDAP in wireless access node310 over the backhaul links. Wireless access node 110 exchanges RRC/N1signaling and SDAP data for services A, B, C, and D over wireless accessnode 310 and subchannels A, B, C, and D of radio channel 330.

FIG. 6 illustrates the operation of wireless UEs 601-603, wirelessaccess node 610, and wireless network slices 621-623 to serve wirelessUEs 601-603 over radio channel 630. Wireless access node 610 is anexample of wireless access nodes 110 and 310, although access nodes 110and 310 may differ. Network slice 621 supports network service A.Network slice 622 supports network service B. Network slice 623 supportsnetwork service C. The network services could be internet-access,machine communications, media-conferencing, social networking, or someother data communication product.

In some alternative examples, network slices 621-623 do not include thePHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP, and RRC—or do not include a portion thereof.In these cases, the same MAC may serve network slices 621-623 asdescribed herein by sizing subchannels A, B, and C and backfilling thesubchannels across services A, B, and C. In the present example, theMACs are slice-specific, but the MACs are integrated over MAC link 613to efficiently render backfill support to one another. In some examples,MAC link 613 comprises a virtual switch that serves MAC VNFs.

The MAC in network slice 621 determines the size and placement of asubchannel A within radio channel 630. To make the determination, theMAC translates the time (time-of-day, day-of-week, and day-of-year) intochannel A size and placement. The MAC in network slice 622 determinesthe size and placement of a subchannel B within radio channel 630 bytranslating the time into the channel B size and placement. The MAC inslice 623 determines the size and placement of a subchannel C withinradio channel 630 by translating the time into the channel C size andplacement. The translations may use a common data structure that isconfigured based on historical data for service usage, usage time, andusage location to allocate radio channel 630 into subchannels A, B, andC for network slices 621-623 based on the current time.

Initially, UEs 601-603 attach to network slices in wireless access node610 that may or may not be shown on FIG. 6 . Eventually, UEs 601-603handover to respective network slices 621-623 to receive theirrespective network services A, B, and C. The RRC in UE 601 and the RRCin network slice 621 exchange RRC signaling over their respective PDCPs,RLCs, MACs, and PHYs. In network slice 621, the RRC exchanges N2signaling for UE 601 with the AMF, and the AMF exchanges N1 signalingwith the RRC in UE 601 over wireless access node 610. In network slice621, the AMF interacts with the SMF and PCF to select default bearersand QoS for UE 601. In network slice 621, the AMF and the RRC exchangeN2 signaling that indicates the network-selected bearers and QoS. Innetwork slice 621, the RRC configures its network applications tocommunicate with UE 601 and the UPF. In particular, the MAC in networkslice 621 schedules uplink and downlink resource blocks from subchannelA in radio channel 630 for UE 601 and other UEs that receive service A.

The RRC in UE 602 and the RRC in network slice 622 exchange RRCsignaling over their respective PDCPs, RLCs, MACs, and PHYs. In networkslice 622, the RRC exchanges N2 signaling for UE 602 with the AMF, andthe AMF exchanges N1 signaling with the RRC in UE 602 over wirelessaccess node 610. In network slice 622, the AMF interacts with the SMFand PCF to select default bearers and QoS for UE 602. In network slice622, the AMF and the RRC exchange N2 signaling that indicates thenetwork-selected bearers and QoS. In slice 622, the RRC configures itsnetwork applications to communicate with UE 602 and the UPF. Inparticular, the MAC in network slice 622 schedules resource blocks fromsubchannel B in radio channel 630 for UE 602 and other UEs that receiveservice B.

The RRC in UE 603 and the RRC in network slice 623 exchange RRCsignaling over their respective PDCPs, RLCs, MACs, and PHYs. In networkslice 623, the RRC exchanges N2 signaling for UE 603 with the AMF, andthe AMF exchanges N1 signaling with the RRC in UE 603 over wirelessaccess node 610. In network slice 623, the AMF interacts with the SMFand PCF to select default bearers and QoS for UE 603. In network slice623, the AMF and the RRC exchange N2 signaling that indicates thenetwork-selected bearers and QoS. In slice 623, the RRC configures itsnetwork applications to communicate with UE 603 and the UPF. Inparticular, the MAC in network slice 623 schedules resource blocks fromsubchannel C in radio channel 630 for UE 603 and other UEs that receiveservice C.

The MACs for network slices 621-623 in wireless access node 610 exchangesignaling over MAC link 613 that indicates and reserves unscheduledresource blocks. For example, the MAC in network slice 621 may informthe MACs in slices 622-623 that subchannel A has 5 unused downlinkresource blocks, and the MAC for network slice 622 may reserve all 5downlink resource blocks. The MAC in slice 621 adds the reserveddownlink resource blocks to its schedule. The MAC for slice 622transfers service B data over MAC link 613 to the MAC in slice 621 tofill the reserved resource blocks. In another example, the MAC innetwork slice 622 may inform the other MACs in slices 621 and 623 thatsubchannel B has 10 unused uplink resource blocks, and the MAC fornetwork slice 623 may reserve all 10 uplink resource blocks. The MAC inslice 622 adds the reserved uplink resource blocks to its schedule.

The RRCs in network slices 621-623 transfer configuration information toUEs 601-603 for the bearers and QoS over the PDCP, RLC, MAC, and PHYs.The RRCs in UEs 601-603 configure their network applications tocommunicate with slices 621-623 per the configuration information. TheMACs in network slices 621-623 transfer their schedules to the MACs inUEs 601-603 over the PHYs. The SDAPs in network slices 621-623 and theSDAPs in respective UEs 601-603 then exchange service data over theresource blocks in subchannels A, B, and C in radio channel 630 per theMAC scheduling. UE 601 and network slice 621 exchange data for service Aover subchannel A in radio channel 630. UE 602 and network slice 622exchange data for service B over subchannel B in radio channel 630. UE603 and network slice 623 exchange data for service C over subchannel Cin radio channel 630.

When subchannel A is full and subchannel B or C is not full, UE 601 andnetwork slice 622 or 623 can exchange data for service A over subchannelB or C in radio channel 630. When subchannel B is full and subchannel Aor C is not full, UE 602 and network slice 621 or 623 can exchange datafor service B over subchannel A or C in radio channel 630. Whensubchannel C is full and subchannel A or B is not full, UE 603 andnetwork slice 621 or 622 can exchange data for service C over subchannelA or B in radio channel 630. The MACs maintain data separation among theservice and slices by using different service IDs, slice IDs, IPaddress, IP port, network ID, or some other slice-differentiatinginformation present in the data.

In the above backfill examples, the MAC in network slice 621 willtransfer data for service B to the MAC in UE 602 over the 5 downlinkresource blocks in subchannel A of radio channel 630. The MAC in networkslice 621 transfers uplink signaling for service B to the MAC in networkslice 622 over MAC link 613. In addition, the MAC in UE 603 willtransfer data and signaling for service C to the MAC in network slice622 over the 10 uplink resource blocks in subchannel B of radio channel630. The MAC in network slice 622 transfers the data and signaling forservice C to the MAC in network slice 623 over MAC link 613.

The wireless data network circuitry described above comprises computerhardware and software that form special-purpose wireless networkcircuitry to wirelessly serve UEs over time-sized subchannels in acommon radio channel. The computer hardware comprises processingcircuitry like CPUs, DSPs, GPUs, transceivers, bus circuitry, andmemory. To form these computer hardware structures, semiconductors likesilicon or germanium are positively and negatively doped to formtransistors. The doping comprises ions like boron or phosphorus that areembedded within the semiconductor material. The transistors and otherelectronic structures like capacitors and resistors are arranged andmetallically connected within the semiconductor to form devices likelogic circuitry and storage registers. The logic circuitry and storageregisters are arranged to form larger structures like control units,logic units, and Random-Access Memory (RAM). In turn, the control units,logic units, and RAM are metallically connected to form CPUs, DSPs,GPUs, transceivers, bus circuitry, and memory.

In the computer hardware, the control units drive data between the RAMand the logic units, and the logic units operate on the data. Thecontrol units also drive interactions with external memory like flashdrives, disk drives, and the like. The computer hardware executesmachine-level software to control and move data by driving machine-levelinputs like voltages and currents to the control units, logic units, andRAM. The machine-level software is typically compiled from higher-levelsoftware programs. The higher-level software programs comprise operatingsystems, utilities, user applications, and the like. Both thehigher-level software programs and their compiled machine-level softwareare stored in memory and retrieved for compilation and execution. Onpower-up, the computer hardware automatically executesphysically-embedded machine-level software that drives the compilationand execution of the other computer software components which thenassert control. Due to this automated execution, the presence of thehigher-level software in memory physically changes the structure of thecomputer hardware machines into special-purpose wireless networkcircuitry to wirelessly serve UEs over time-sized subchannels in acommon radio channel.

The above description and associated figures teach the best mode of theinvention. The following claims specify the scope of the invention. Notethat some aspects of the best mode may not fall within the scope of theinvention as specified by the claims. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that the features described above can be combined in variousways to form multiple variations of the invention. Thus, the inventionis not limited to the specific embodiments described above, but only bythe following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operating a wireless communicationnetwork to serve wireless user devices over a radio channel that isallocated into subchannels for wireless network slices, the methodcomprising: a wireless access node scheduling resource blocks from thesubchannels to the wireless user devices based on the wireless networkslices used by the wireless user devices; the wireless access nodedetecting when one of the subchannels has available resource blocks andother ones of the subchannels need the available resource blocks, and inresponse, scheduling the available resource blocks to ones of thewireless user devices that need the available resource blocks and thatuse a higher priority one of the wireless network slices; the wirelessaccess node wirelessly exchanging user data with the wireless userdevices over the scheduled resource blocks and exchanging the user datawith the wireless network slices; and the wireless network slicesexchanging the user data with the wireless access node and exchanging atleast some of the user data with external systems.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 where the subchannels comprise an internet-access subchannel andthe wireless network slices comprise an internet-access slice that usesthe internet-access subchannel.
 3. The method of claim 1 where thesubchannels comprise a Low-Power Wide Area Network (LP-WAN) subchanneland the wireless network slices comprise an LP-WAN slice that uses theLP-WAN subchannel.
 4. The method of claim 1 where the subchannelscomprise a Vehicle-to-X (V2X) subchannel and the wireless network slicescomprise a V2X slice that uses the V2X subchannel.
 5. The method ofclaim 1 where the subchannels comprise a media-conferencing subchanneland the wireless network slices comprise a media-conferencing slice thatuses the media-conferencing subchannel.
 6. The method of claim 1 whereinthe wireless access node scheduling the resource blocks, detecting whenthe one of the subchannels has the available resource blocks and theother ones of the subchannels need the available resource blocks, andscheduling the available resource blocks comprises at least one MediaAccess Control (MAC) scheduling the resource blocks, detecting when theone of the subchannels has the available resource blocks and the otherones of the subchannels need the available resource blocks, andscheduling the available resource blocks.
 7. The method of claim 1wherein the wireless access node scheduling the resource blocks,detecting when the one of the subchannels has the available resourceblocks and the other ones of the subchannels need the available resourceblocks, and scheduling the available resource blocks comprisesindividual Media Access Controls (MACs) that serve individual ones ofthe wireless network slices scheduling the resource blocks, detectingwhen the one of the subchannels has the available resource blocks andthe other ones of the subchannels need the available resource blocks,and scheduling the available resource blocks.
 8. The method of claim 1wherein the wireless network slices comprise User Plane Functions(UPFs).
 9. The method of claim 1 further comprising the wireless accessnode sizing the subchannels for the wireless network slices based ontime-of-day.
 10. The method of claim 1 further comprising the wirelessaccess node sizing the subchannels for the wireless network slices basedon geographic location.
 11. A wireless communication network to servewireless user devices over a radio channel that is allocated intosubchannels for wireless network slices, the wireless communicationnetwork comprising: a wireless access node configured to scheduleresource blocks from the subchannels to the wireless user devices basedon the wireless network slices used by the wireless user devices; thewireless access node configured to detect when one of the subchannelshas available resource blocks and other ones of the subchannels need theavailable resource blocks, and in response, to schedule the availableresource blocks to ones of the wireless user devices that need theavailable resource blocks and that use a higher priority one of thewireless network slices; the wireless access node configured towirelessly exchange user data with the wireless user devices over thescheduled resource blocks and exchange the user data with the wirelessnetwork slices; and the wireless network slices configured to exchangethe user data with the wireless access node and exchange at least someof the user data with external systems.
 12. The wireless communicationnetwork of claim 11 where the subchannels comprise an internet-accesssubchannel and the wireless network slices comprise an internet-accessslice that uses the internet-access subchannel.
 13. The wirelesscommunication network of claim 11 where the subchannels comprise aLow-Power Wide Area Network (LP-WAN) subchannel and the wireless networkslices comprise an LP-WAN slice that uses the LP-WAN subchannel.
 14. Thewireless communication network of claim 11 where the subchannelscomprise a Vehicle-to-X (V2X) subchannel and the wireless network slicescomprise a V2X slice that uses the V2X subchannel.
 15. The wirelesscommunication network of claim 11 where the subchannels comprise amedia-conferencing subchannel and the wireless network slices comprise amedia-conferencing slice that uses the media-conferencing subchannel.16. The wireless communication network of claim 11 wherein the wirelessaccess node comprises at least one Media Access Control (MAC) configuredto schedule the resource blocks, detect when the one of the subchannelshas the available resource blocks and the other ones of the subchannelsneed the available resource blocks, and schedule the available resourceblocks.
 17. The wireless communication network of claim 11 wherein thewireless access node comprises individual Media Access Controls (MACs)that serve individual ones of the wireless network slices and that areconfigured to schedule the resource blocks, detect when the one of thesubchannels has the available resource blocks and the other ones of thesubchannels need the available resource blocks, and schedule theavailable resource blocks.
 18. The wireless communication network ofclaim 11 wherein the wireless network slices comprise User PlaneFunctions (UPFs).
 19. The wireless communication network of claim 11further comprising the wireless access node sizing the subchannels forthe wireless network slices based on time-of-day.
 20. The wirelesscommunication network of claim 11 further comprising the wireless accessnode sizing the subchannels for the wireless network slices based ongeographic location.